Henri Grünbauer - Guitar - Fly Away Jam - The Abandoned Gas Plant 1988. This was definitively the lowest point of my musical life and my life in general as well. I was arrested four times during the period, for stealing a bottle of vintage Wine (and drinking it with some ‘friends’), for drug possession and not be able to prove I had borrowed the Bike I had with me from a good Friend, for trespassing and for hoboing from Utrecht to Amsterdam were I lived with Yasin, a Somalian Musician refugee. He had just fired me from his band for the umpteenth time. I had no Job, no money and several of my Guitars were stolen. It was Francis, a classical Guitarplayer gone electric who invited me and my Vox AC 30 to a Jamsession in this abandoned Gasplant in Utrecht on New Years Eve 1988. I knew half the musician who were there to Jam and there were some others. I forgave basin for firing me and asked him to come as well. Francis said we could eat and drink so that was something to look forward to. I took my one Telecaster to the venue as well which was packed with basically all white punks on dope, so to speak. Around midnight I spotted Hans, a Bassplayer I had seen and heard a few times at the sessions. However I had never played with him before. I said let’s find a drummer and You know Francis right? He said: don’t worry, You’re in, I have it all mapped out. Francis had his souped up Fender Champ and his wooden pick along with his Telecaster, there was a drumset, a Peavey Bassamp, Peavey vocal pillars and of course my Vox. Hans had indeed mapped out things. He came up with a bass player and a drummer i did not know and he was going to sing himself. So we jammed about half an hour around midnight and I thought it sounded terrible but the atmosphere was quite relaxed. The jam was supposed to be a country song in E and by sign of hand we got up to A and back (or something like that). I was bad. I didn’t remember anything afterwards when Yasin came to me and said: ‘I heard Your solo, man, You’re in my band again!’ I said ‘what solo? I didn’t play one!’ Some Guy gave me a tape of the evening which ended on the shelves of Nutking Records (formerly Bounty Records) And I had to find out what solo Yasin was referring to. It is here at 4:12 in the Video but it was really Ben and Rob starting this band Blue jeans and Black who dragged me out of the Swamp I was in at the time. Mind You, this Jam isn’t for sensible ears, I was really gone to the Dogs at this point in Time, You can hear them bark at Me.

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Fly Away Jam - The Abandoned Gas Plant 1988. This was definitively the lowest point of my musical life and my life in general as well. I was arrested four times during the period, for stealing a bottle of vintage Wine (and drinking it with some ‘friends’), for drug possession and not be able to prove I had borrowed the Bike I had with me from a good Friend, for trespassing and for hoboing from Utrecht to Amsterdam were I lived with Yasin, a Somalian Musician refugee. He had just fired me from his band for the umpteenth time. I had no Job, no money and several of my Guitars were stolen. It was Francis, a classical Guitarplayer gone electric who invited me and my Vox AC 30 to a Jamsession in this abandoned Gasplant in Utrecht on New Years Eve 1988. I knew half the musician who were there to Jam and there were some others. I forgave basin for firing me and asked him to come as well. Francis said we could eat and drink so that was something to look forward to. I took my one Telecaster to the venue as well which was packed with basically all white punks on dope, so to speak. Around midnight I spotted Hans, a Bassplayer I had seen and heard a few times at the sessions. However I had never played with him before. I said let’s find a drummer and You know Francis right? He said: don’t worry, You’re in, I have it all mapped out. Francis had his souped up Fender Champ and his wooden pick along with his Telecaster, there was a drumset, a Peavey Bassamp, Peavey vocal pillars and of course my Vox. Hans had indeed mapped out things. He came up with a bass player and a drummer i did not know and he was going to sing himself. So we jammed about half an hour around midnight and I thought it sounded terrible but the atmosphere was quite relaxed. The jam was supposed to be a country song in E and by sign of hand we got up to A and back (or something like that). I was bad. I didn’t remember anything afterwards when Yasin came to me and said: ‘I heard Your solo, man, You’re in my band again!’ I said ‘what solo? I didn’t play one!’ Some Guy gave me a tape of the evening which ended on the shelves of Nutking Records (formerly Bounty Records) And I had to find out what solo Yasin was referring to. It is here at 4:12 in the Video but it was really Ben and Rob starting this band Blue jeans and Black who dragged me out of the Swamp I was in at the time. Mind You, this Jam isn’t for sensible ears, I was really gone to the Dogs at this point in Time, You can hear them bark at Me.

Since I was a little boy. I started on Recorder, then Keyboard. I picked up the Guitar when I was 14 or 15.

What was the first concert you ever went to?

I think it was Rory Gallagher in about 1975 or 1976. I was with my friend Jitte Roosendaal, also a guitar player. We have been in a band together in the late 70s and early 80s after he taught me some stuff on the electric guitar. This was because I had started out on a classical guitar. Memorable of the concert where two facts: Rory played Million Miles Away, my favorite from Irish Tour and drummer Rod d'Ath crashed the bassdrumskin.

What gear do you use?

Fender Telecaster ('73) 3 pick-up & tremolo, Epiphone Sheraton II, Vox amplification, sometimes Marshall. Fender is good too. For spanish Guitar I used to have a Suzuki which got decapitated. Currently I have two Yamaha's, one for study and one for performing or recording, mainly due to issues of stringwear. in between the Japanese guitars there was an Korean nameless one, which worned out very quickly. For slide Guitar I use an Eko (Italian brand, I think) I have both 6 & 12 string versions. My Yamaki western is now with my eldest daughter, as is my Blue Sage Nomad electric which I used with the Kerozinekikkers. In the past I also owned a white Ibanez Les Paul (which was burned to death), a Standard Telecaster (I sold it), A Tele Thinline ('79) and A Mustang ('63), both got stolen from me. For Basses I have used a Maya Jazzbas, A Yamaha 1200s (some sort of endorsement-deal) and a '60s Red Hofner medium scale, which I gave away to my son, It was hard to get strings for the Hofner. Recently my best friend gave his fretless Washburn to me, I think it is from the late '70s or early 80s. For an amp, there was the Bassman 135, Which shared the fate of the Ibanez. Ever since I use a "Stage 100" Basscombo. I really don't know if that is a brand. For picks, I use Dunlops, the little purple ones. They are very heavy and give a glassy type of attack. I wear them out until I cannot hold them anymore. I don't lose my picks that often. It seems they keep coming back to me. For strings I use D'Addario almost exclusively. The nylons are the Pro Arte series (normal tension .28) and the steel ones .009 for the Tele and .010 for the Epi. I wear them out pretty well. Half way its life, I restring the 4th string (D) on the classical guitar reversed. I hardly ever break a string. I used to, but not anymore.

What are you looking for from Fandalism?

Music and Musicians, what else?

Who was your biggest musical influence growing up?

Probably my father, he was a church organist and thaught me the theoretical stuff. He gave piano- and organ lessons at home next to my babyroom he had build himself.

What's the biggest audience you ever performed to? What's the smallest?

The biggest audience was probably 400 or so. I don't really know, I didn't count them. The smallest audience was one bird. It started to participate.

You're stuck on a desert island and only get to bring one album with you. What do you pick?

Oh well... I'd have to study the artwork on the cover to pick a nice one. It'l probably an LP because it is bigger, presuming there's no electricity on the Isle. but if i may, i'd rather take my Spanish Guitar with me. If I can take a CD player with me: The six Paganini violin concertos. I heard the second one first when I had bought it. I had become just curious when I had read something about the man. Nobody seemed to have heard any of his music but a lot of people did have an opinion about him. So I decided to check him out. He was very different from the classical composers I already knew like Beethoven Handel Mozart Grieg Vivaldi and the Like. No thick harmonic plots, but very melodically inspired music which at times rather suggests harmonies. I liked that because it makes you hear music.